


Best Birthday Ever

by theamberissubtle



Series: Dianakko Week 2018 [5]
Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Birthday, F/F, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-13 02:20:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theamberissubtle/pseuds/theamberissubtle
Summary: Akko was determined to make Operation: Impress Diana Cavendish On Her Birthday a resounding success.Dianakko Week 2018: Day 5 // Spoiling Diana





	Best Birthday Ever

**Author's Note:**

> I have taken a few liberties with what I understand about Luna Nova lore - and I've incorporated a couple of ideas from LWA Chamber of Time. It's probably not accurate but oh well, it fit the story. Anyway, please enjoy!

It wasn’t that Akko _liked_ leaving things until last minute.   
  
Rather, that’s how her life tended to unfold. This year she'd pledged to not only get her affairs in order (she wouldn’t hand her homework in late, she really wouldn’t) but also grow as a person by becoming more aware of her surroundings and the people in them. Namely, what she wanted more than anything was to spoil the heck out of her girlfriend on her birthday.   
  
She’d been thinking about this important date for the past month so it wasn’t like it had snuck up on her – for once.   
  
Diana of course tried her best to keep the information hidden, but she was no match for Akko’s determination. After deeming her a birthday Grinch, Akko had vowed to give her _the best birthday ever_ , a phrase that had sent Diana scurrying for the safety of the library.  
  
The problem was, no matter how hard she wracked her brains for ideas worthy of such an occasion, she could not think of a single gift befitting her enchanting, wonderful, stupidly pretty – and rich – girlfriend of five months. Nothing! Nada, zero, zip, zilch. It wasn’t for lack of trying, either. She’d already dismissed so many ideas, from extravagant dinners to homemade trinkets, from weekend trips to quirky, over-the-top magical gimmicks. In desperation, she’d even asked Amanda for help: her response of “I dunno, just tie a bow around yourself and leave it at that” was hardly helpful.  
  
Besides, Akko had already planned that side of the evening. It would be cheating to call it a present. Though she could take the bow idea and run with it…

She cleared her throat. No, Diana deserved a physical gift, one she could keep and one that was suited to all her perfection and glory! The heir to a fortune wouldn’t care about financially motivated presents anyway – rich people were weird like that. Deep down, Akko knew that Diana wouldn’t be impressed with anything lavish regardless and she didn’t want to get her anything impersonal like that. Not that she could afford expensive jewellery or fancy dinners anyway.    
  
At least she’d settled on a few details for the big day: a picnic, filled with Diana’s favourite British treats including something called a sausage roll and a dessert called an apple crumble. The birthday _what_ was sorted. The birthday _where_ was easy: that one spot on the grounds where Akko had blurted out her feelings, inelegant and panicked that one afternoon after P.E when she’d convinced herself that Diana would fall in love with someone else before she’d had a chance to confess. They were soon leaving for the summer break, and thoughts of being miles away and in another country had propelled her to act. Fortunately, though, Diana had had no plans to ride off into the sunset with a faceless stranger borne from Akko’s worst nightmares, instead reciprocating her feelings and giggling at her tactless confession. However, it got her a kiss that very afternoon so Akko would forever be grateful for her lack of filter and natural inclination for overreacting.

Consequently, that spot on the school grounds was theirs. It was lucky it had a nice tree planted there, perfect for a spot of shade in the sweltering summer heat, so that part of the plan was easy: Akko would even cast a spell and make the flowers look nice.   
  
As for the evening part, um, well, she’d bribed Barbara and Hannah to leave them alone in the suite all night. It was worth her red face and stutters – and their giggles of amusement – because they loved Diana more than anything and would move mountains to make her happy. Even help her get laid, apparently. True friendship indeed. Akko was almost moved.

Jasminka would help her prepare the picnic; Lotte would watch over and check her spell work – the last thing she needed was for venomous plants to sprout out of nowhere and chew off Diana’s fingers – and Sucy had even promised to behave herself and not hang around the bushes mushroom-hunting when they were on their date. She’d even managed to tune out Amanda’s various lewd suggestions; she was clearly inspired by her own bow idea and running with it.

That was most of the day covered! There was just one thing left to sort, two days before the day itself. A big something. The most important something. The present! Akko wanted to bash her head against the wall. The present, the present, what was she going to give as a present? How was it possible to be this stuck, she fumed, turning to her Shiny Chariot poster for wisdom forty-eight hours before the deadline. Shiny Chariot simply stared back dolefully. She knew Diana better than anyone, yet here she was, stewing in her own unoriginality.  
  
She spent most of that day huffing. 

Finally, a day before her birthday, the heavens shone down upon her. A stroke of genius at last!  
  
She was in the middle of a conversation with Diana at the time, swinging their joined hands as she praised the merits of eating both fries and roast potatoes in one meal, before she stopped dead in her tracks.   
  
She needed to see Constanze as soon as possible.  
  
To her credit, Diana was only marginally surprised when Akko blurted that she’d see her later and tore off running down the corridor.   
  


* * *

  
  
The next morning, Akko bounded over to her girlfriend’s dorm, Hannah and Barbara barely batting an eyelid when she strolled in without knocking, beaming fit to burst.  
  
Diana was sitting in bed, still under the covers, nursing a cup of tea. Darn, she was too late to put the kettle on! No matter, Hannah and Barbara deserved a moment with her, too. They were better at making tea anyway. Besides, Diana could be rather … _stormy_ in the morning without caffeine.   
  
“Birthday girl,” she greeted, skipping the last couple of steps before bouncing on the edge of the bed, kicking off her shoes so she could lie beside the vast mane of blonde hair. Before Diana could blink, she’d thrown her arms around her waist, almost causing the tea to spill.   
  
“Akko, careful-”  
  
“You’re eighteen!” Akko grinned, ignoring her. “Happy birthday to you, Diana.”  
  
“Thank you darling,” she replied, happier now she had a firm grasp on her cup. She kissed the top of Akko’s head. Giddy, Akko could tell that Diana was still sleepy because she rarely let terms of endearment slip through like that.   
  
“Before you say anything, please let me drink my tea,” Diana begged, sensing her excitement; she was practically vibrating with it and it took a special kind of energy to pacify Akko in her heightened state.   
  
“Of course.” Akko waved off her concerns. She let her head fall to her shoulder, gently resting a hand atop the covers and picking at the threads.

Diana sighed contentedly.   
  
Akko truly was on her best behaviour, doing her best to cater to Diana’s wishes while also making the day special in true Akko-style. For now, sitting beside Diana in bed was perfect; she could happily sniff her girlfriend’s hair for a blissful minute.  
  
Forty seconds later, Akko prompted, “breakfast time?” and Diana at least tried not to sigh too woefully.   
  
She’d bribed the kitchen staff to make those weird granola yogurt things her girlfriend really liked, unbeknownst to her own palette.   
  
“But,” Akko said in horror, suddenly realising, “don’t eat too much because, um, well-”  
  
“Akko, you told me we’re going on a picnic this afternoon, you can relax.”  
  
“Oh yeah.” She grinned. “Wait, I could serve you breakfast in bed! Don’t move!”  
  
“Akko!” With surprising speed, Diana grabbed her arm before she could unceremoniously fling her way towards the door. “I just. Want. To drink. My tea. I’m fully capable of walking to the cafeteria, even on my birthday. While I appreciate your enthusiasm, I would still like to retain a modicum of normalcy. _Please_ stop yawning while I speak.”  
  
Akko snapped her mouth closed. Suitably chastised, she clambered back onto the bed again, playing with a strand of her hair as Diana drank her _super important_ tea before asking, gently, “Soooo breakfast?”   
  
Diana managed to finish three quarters of her cup before Akko shoved her into the bathroom to change.   
  
“Just don’t follow her in there,” Hannah warned her, idly flipping over a page of her magazine and watching the impatient witch as she paced around the room.  
  
“Yeah, please don’t. We’re giving you the suite tonight!” Barbara begged, straightening her hair over by the vanity. Catching Hannah’s eye in the mirror, they both giggled at their dramatic, parental tones.   
  
Akko rolled her eyes. Like she’d do that with them in the next room eavesdropping. It’s not like Diana would go for it… And it’s not like that was the only thing stopping her from trying! She had some class. Supposedly. Oh, who was she kidding? She’d shove them out of the room now if she thought Diana wouldn’t blast her into the next county for interrupting her morning routine. Apparently morning liaisons were only allowed when no one else was around, period. Well, not always, this was a busy castle after all and sexual frustration was a real thing -   
  
“I’m ready,” Diana announced, exiting the bathroom looking the very image of perfection.   
  
The dress she wore was a summery, light blue, cinched at the waist and cascading outwards, managing to be both airy and ethereal. With her blonde hair curling around her shoulders, she looked like an angel.   
  
Akko had to pick her mouth up off the floor. “Happy birthday indeed!” she said - and then blanched. “Oh, err, sorry, I didn’t mean to say that out loud – Barbara, stop laughing!”   
  


* * *

  
  
During breakfast, their entire group of friends filtered in, all wishing Diana a happy birthday and depositing various small gifts (Diana had begged for zero presents, but Akko hadn’t told anyone that). Bright red, she gave a tiny speech of thanks, and went back to finishing her weird granola thing in a demure silence.   
  
Amanda, who was sitting opposite Akko, tried to get her attention.  
  
“What,” Akko mouthed, busy upending syrup on her pancakes.

“The bow,” Amanda mimed, smirking, “How’d it go?”  
  
It was lucky Diana was preoccupied with her breakfast because Akko sent a rather dismissive, rude hand gesture across the table.   
  
After waiting patiently for Diana to finish the last of her grainy oaty mixture, and to read the  _endless_ Luna Nova Times, she allowed her to dictate the next couple of hours of their day before their picnic commenced.   
  
Except... Akko did not bargain for the library.   
  
“This is boring,” she huffed, dragging her feet. “It’s your birthday! You can take a day off from the books, Diana.”  
  
“I like reading,” she sniffed, settling down at the comfiest table.  
  
“You’re so weird,” Akko muttered, obediently sitting across from her and trying not to pout.   
  
It wasn’t her birthday, she reminded herself, and if this was Diana’s deepest wish, then so be it. Last year Diana had acquiesced to being dragged around town hopping from one pet café to the next all in the name of Akko’s birthday, so she figured she could put up with the library for an hour or two.   
  
Except she couldn’t. Rubbing her foot up and down Diana’s leg under the table wasn’t even distracting enough because Diana’s eyebrow raise was a serious one as opposed to a flirty one.   
  
“What’s your book about?” Akko inquired, finally bored enough to ask.  
  
Rolling her eyes at her tone, Diana held up the book. “It’s called The Snow Queen. My mother used to read it to me every birthday.”  
  
Oh. Well, now Akko felt terrible. “Diana, I’m sorry…I’ll be quiet now, I promise.” She’d sit still and silent if it killed her!   
  
“Do you want to read it with me?”  
  
Wasting no time, Akko scrambled into the seat beside her, snuggling up close as her girlfriend read her the fairytale, and if Akko briefly envisaged a scene far off in the future of her doing the exact same thing with a tiny human on her lap who looked just like her, it was for her mind only.   
  


* * *

  
  
“Picnic, picnic,” Akko muttered to herself, holding out her fingers and ticking off her mental checklist.   
  
The basket? Check. Nice weather? Check. Diana? Check!"  
  
She threw the blanket on the ground, making sure to surreptitiously check the flowers – they were the closest shade of blue to Diana’s eyes as possible; she was an expert after all, spending a good portion of her day seeking them out and staring into them. She grinned: her spell work, for once, was impeccable. Satisfied, she sprawled out on the blanket and began to unpack the basket.   
  
Looking up, she noticed Diana watching her with a fond expression.  
  
“What?” she asked, a little shy. Diana looking at her like that made her heart flutter.   
  
“I just… love you.”  
  
Akko’s stomach swooped – she could never get used to that, no matter how times she heard it. Powerless to stop her hands from reaching out, she guided her girlfriend down to sit beside her, wasting no time in pulling her in for an intense kiss.   
  
“Happy birthday to me,” Diana smiled playfully against her lips, and Akko was _so_ in love with her. This side of her, the playful, teasing side, was reserved just for her and she  _loved_ it. If it wasn’t for the fact she wanted to show off her sausage rolls, she would have pushed her down flat on the blanket and proceeded to kiss the life out of her. Alas, her picnic was calling, and Diana deserved the whole experience after she’d spent hours toiling away for this very afternoon.  
  
“Look!” Akko beamed, unwrapping her arms from around Diana’s shoulders and gesturing to the food. “British things!”  
  
“Oh, Akko,” Diana breathed, looking genuinely surprised and touched at the array of treats. “This is wonderful. Is that apple crumble?”  
  
“Of course! Like I would forget the most important element!”  
  
“You’re really something else,” she said, shaking her head in wonder.  
  
Beaming, Akko shoved a plate at her, feeling a huge swell of pride: she’d done it! Diana approved! Not that her girlfriend would ever be so rude as to tell her otherwise, but Akko was an expert in all things Diana and she could tell that she was taken aback by her attention to detail. She’d even remembered the elderflower cordial. She was trying to replicate the picnics she’d had with her parents growing up; whenever Diana had spoken about the trips, albeit few and far between, Akko had sneakily prodded her for more information regarding the food and stored it away, knowing one day it would useful.   
  
“To you, the best person in the entire world,” Akko toasted with an air of grandeur, “and also the best girlfriend in the world, and the best witch in the world, and the best-”  
  
“Please stop,” Diana begged, clinking their plastic champagne flutes together, her ears a little red.   
  
“Okay, okay, let’s eat. Taberu!”  
  
Before digging in, Akko quickly scanned the bushes – Sucy was nowhere to be found, thank goodness. All of Akko’s hard work, not to mention the persistent badgering of other people to help, had paid off as Diana hmmed her way around the various foods, and it was a point of pride for the brunette when she declared the apple crumble a roaring success. “It’s not with custard,” Akko told her, not regretful at all because that sounded gross, “but I do have cream. Because we have scones, too, and I know jam and cream on those is a thing.”  
  
Rather than admire Akko’s knowledge of all the baked goods splayed before her, Diana leaned in with a glint in her eyes, her fingertip just touching the side of her mouth where a glob of raspberry jam was smudged, delighting in Akko’s subsequent whimper.   
  
“I also like the flowers,” Diana said slyly, looking around after they’d eaten. Even Akko with her endless stomach was defeated. “They match my eyes.”  
  
“Your dress matches your eyes, too,” Akko pointed out, a little embarrassed at being caught out – she was half-hoping Diana wouldn’t notice the overkill that was her making the flowers match.   
  
“I’m complimenting your magic, Akko, please don’t pretend that you didn’t put a lot of thought and effort into this. Honestly, this afternoon has been wonderful.”  
  
“You deserve it,” Akko told her honestly, sweetly. She deserved everything.  
  
“To say I wasn’t looking forward to yet another birthday, you’ve made it… more than bearable.”  
  
“Just say you’re enjoying yourself like a normal person,” Akko teased, nudging her leg with her foot. “No thanks necessary. I wanted to do something special for you! I know I can’t afford a lot of fancy things – no, hear me out,” she said, as Diana made to refute the need for such gifts, “and I know you wouldn’t like that stuff anyway, so I wanted to make a special day for you instead. Um, I did actually get you a present…” She took a deep breath, steeling herself. The moment had arrived.   
  
For all her bravado when it came to bulldozing her way through life, she was nervous about this, fumbling with her bag as she dug around for the present she’d been wracking her brains over for weeks and weeks. Fortunately, Constanze had been able to help her, and she’d packed it carefully that very morning, checking it at every stage of the day to make sure it was still there – not that it could disappear. All the same, it was a magic castle and bad things tended to happen around her, so she couldn’t ever be too careful.

Diana watched her quietly, sensing a _no, Akko, you shouldn’t have_ wasn’t appropriate at that juncture. Just like Akko was tuned to Diana’s moods, Diana was similarly attuned to hers. She could tell the other witch was nervous, so she allowed her the space and time to gather her senses.   
  
“It’s, um.” Akko held out the small, packaged gift.  
  
Gently, Diana took it, looking down at the blue wrapping and then at Akko – who was looking anywhere but her.   
  
The flowers around them shone an astonishing blue, bathing the scene in an almost ethereal light as the sun hit the grounds for miles around.  They could have been the only two people in the world. Akko picked at her own dress, glancing up as Diana cautiously removed the packaging.   
  
“Akko…” she exhaled.   
  
Akko hastened to explain: “It’s a spell stone! Bu – but it’s not just a regular spell stone, right. I wouldn’t just give you one of those, that’d be weird. You know the one we used during the whole end--of-the-world-disaster, the one that was powering us before everyone’s believing hearts helped us out? Well, I managed to find it. I thought that it was kind of like our stone?  It doesn’t work now, obviously, it’s drained of energy, but I had it engraved – and – and…”  
  
“Is that the red string of fate?” Diana asked, a little breathlessly. She studied the stone carefully, attempting to read the inscription.   
  
“Constanze did it for me,” Akko said, knowing she was flushing to the roots of her hair. “I wanted to give it to you as a – a –soul mate token. In Japan, see, the red string of fate is symbolic for people who were meant to find one another. After the world almost ended and we saved it, that’s when I realised that I wanted to be with you – and it seems so funny now, how everything led to that moment. The inscription, oh yeah, sorry, it’s in kanji because I was being all grand and symbolic and clearly drunk off my own idea but – it’s the symbols for love, longevity and destiny.”  
  
Akko was speaking to her knees for most of her monologue but the second she felt a soft pressure on her cheek, she looked up to find Diana with tears streaming down her face, smiling her favourite soft, gentle smile as she cupped her face.  
  
“Akko, I don’t know what to say,” she said, holding up the spell stone reverently. “This is… It’s beautiful. It’s so beautiful I don’t even know how to thank you. The effort you went through…”  
  
“Being with you is thanks enough,” Akko said, and any other time she’d cringe at how ridiculous that might have sounded, but right now it felt right – and it was the right thing to say, judging by Diana’s reaction; she leaned in, wrapping her arms around her.   
  
“Soul mates,” she murmured into her ear. “I like the sound of that.”  
  
Akko felt the tension leave her body, able to reciprocate the hug now her hands had stopped shaking so much.   
  
When she’d first thought of the idea, she’d classes it as a stroke of genius – how extravagant but not extravagant! However, alongside that came a heavy bout of hesitation and anxiety, just in case Diana thought her presumptuous or crazy. The red string of fate left little wiggle room where her intentions were concerned. She was essentially saying _be mine, forever_. Once she’d thought of it, though, there was no turning back. She _had_ to do it. It was the gift she wanted to give – and Diana had accepted it, sealing a promise for the future.   
  
Akko felt her own eyes water. Wow. Talk about emotionally charged. All she’d wanted to do was feed her girlfriend meat pastries and inhale the smell of her hair and shower her with praises that made her turn that particular shade of red, but here she was crying over spell stones and red strings and the fact Diana was completely speechless.   
  
“I never thought I’d see the day,” she teased, trying to restore a semblance of normalcy to the proceedings, for both their sakes, “when a Cavendish had nothing to say.”  
  
“It’s not often a Cavendish is rendered speechless,” Diana retorted, joy lighting up her eyes. She cradled the spell stone close to her chest as though she could still feel its energy thrumming. “I must find a suitable case for this,” she pondered.   
  
Akko waved off her responsibilities at that point. She was tired, okay? The case was the easy part, Diana could sort that out. Yawning, she lay back on the blanket, utterly at peace with the world. It wasn’t long before Diana settled in beside her, entwining their hands together.   
  
She let out a deep, content breath.

Akko watched the clouds float by for a moment, perhaps long several moments, before feeling soft puffs of breath causing tingles on her neck; Diana’s chest was rising and falling slowly, and it was instinct to pull her closer. Comfortable, Akko was powerless against her own eyes closing, the last wave of tension leaving her body as she deemed Operation: Impress Diana Cavendish On Her birthday a resounding success.   
  


* * *

  
Later that night, Akko received the all clear from Diana's roommates, steeling herself for the next part as they entered the suite.   
  
“Where are Hannah and Barbara?”  
  
Akko quickly took the opportunity to shove the bow on her head, rummaging behind the potted plant by the door discretely as Diana surveyed the empty suite. She gently knocked the door closed behind her because no one needed to witness this. Perhaps if she was bolder – or drunk – she’d do this part without clothes but a hasty bow on the head would have to suffice. There was only so much stress she could go through in a day.   
  
Diana turned around to ask the question again, pausing in her tracks when she noticed Akko standing there sheepishly, hands tucked behind her back, bow sitting lopsidedly on her head.   
  
She raised an eyebrow.   
  
“Tada! I’m the second part of your present,” she revealed, trying not to die inside.   
  
Diana’s gaze, however, turned predatory; she looked Akko up and down and it seemed to suck the oxygen from the room. Diana always did that: either caused the temperature to rise, for Akko’s heart to fail, or for the room to feel like it had sucked in a deep breath – sometimes all three. Akko was tempted to adjust her dress’s collar.   
  
“A present, hmm,” Diana said, her voice low and sultry, walking over to her. “Am I to understand that this is the unwrapping part of the evening?”  
  
Summoning up all her courage, Akko returned the intense look Diana was levelling her with and said, in her most confident tone, “I’m yours.”    
  


* * *

  
The next morning, when Hannah and Barbara hesitantly pushed open the door, sighing in relief upon seeing their suite still intact, they both smiled as they tiptoed over to the two figures still asleep in Diana’s bed. Akko was hogging most of it, hands and feet peeking out from beneath the covers; she was sprawled on her back with her mouth open, gently snoring, while Diana was lying curled up on her side, scrunching the covers to her chest, hair curling over her bare shoulders. A spell stone was sitting on her desk – a little odd - but they didn’t have the time to investigate that.   
  
Before they could snap a picture of the two, Hannah felt something crunch under her foot as she crept closer, pausing to identify the item. A bow. Barely refraining from snorting, she pointed at it and Barbara grinned wide.   
  
She took a picture of that as well as one of the sleeping pair and sent it to Amanda, Lotte, Sucy, Constanze and Jasminka with the message: “It looks like she took your idea, Amanda.”  
  
Not five seconds later, Amanda wrote back: “I TOLD YOU SHE WOULD!!”   
  
 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Your thoughts are always appreciated.


End file.
